the legacies are (not) alright
by MarvelousAvengfulLife
Summary: Hope changed, Sharon fought and Tony reinvented. How they became an unlikely family and decided to change things. Life isn't fair after all so why should any of them be?


**the legacies are (not) alright**

* * *

 _The truth is rarely pure and never simple._

 **-Oscar Wilde**

 _"Who says life is fair, where is that written?"_

 **-The Princess Bride**

* * *

Don't you ever trust a Stark, Hope. That's what Hope's father always told her.

* * *

Starks, be wary of them Sharon. That's what Sharon's mom always told her much to the displeasure of her great-aunt.

* * *

Tony never got told anything, not by his dad anyways. How could Howard Stark give his only son advice when the man was either drunk or trying to find Captain America.

That's what he always knew.

* * *

Hope Van Dyne met Anthony Stark in 1990, apparently she wasn't the only child of a famous scientist/billionaire parent that hated one another. It was by sheer luck or maybe coinsidence since both Howard and Hank were here to be presented awards for being gods in science-or as least that's what Hope thought as she snuck away from the indoor pavilion. The famous people were there, one of them being _Peggy_ _Carter_.

Even though Hank left Shield he still had respect for Peggy Carter and Hope her idolized a tiny bit.

Who wouldn't?

She heard giggling coming from the hallway. Hope followed the sound to an empty ballroom, standing in the middle was a teenage boy, holding a girl who looked a bit older than Hope on his shoulders. The blonde haired girl kept laughing as the boy spun her around making her blond curls go flying.

The blonde girl spotted Hope, much to her internal embarrassment.

"You wanna come and play with us?" She practically hollered across the room. "Hey goldielocks, I'm pretty sure she isn't deaf." He looked familiar, but she hasn't met him before.

Hope shyly came over to the duo.

There in the middle of the empty room they introduced themselves. There in the middle of the room, they would form a bond forever.

* * *

Sharon Carter has always been glued to the side of Tony Stark since the day she was born. She dubbed him her older cousin, always teasing her and building her cool stuff, like a music box that she could manipulate the tune.

Her mom, Kathleen Mills-Carter was an ex-beauty queen who married Michael Carter. She knew who Peggy Carter was, everybody knew who she was.

Kathleen just did not know how much she'd dislike her.

Whenever Sharon came back from her aunt Peggy's house with mud in her hair and a big grin, her mother would always purse her lips saying nothing. It wasn't until Sharon's sixth birthday when she put her foot down.

"He almost burned her Michael! Who gives a six year old a highly advanced music box that practically almost gives her third degree burns." Kathleen's voice "Tony Stark is never coming here ever!"

That was almost an impossible task Sharon later found out, keeping her away from Tony. Her aunt-Peggy and auntie Angie helped secretly plan play dates until Sharon was in high school. She rebelled, mother and daughter fought. It was a lot of thing that led to Sharon leaving her home and moving into her aunt Peggy's brownstone house.

But _she_ did.

Sharon Carter went into Shield on being an agent that carved her own path. High school was brutal being related to Peggy Carter and entering the Shield Academy was diving into the deep end. But she proved herself over and over, with fists flying and words that could cut down an politician.

When she graduated, aunt Peggy, Auntie Angie and Tony along with Hope cheered the loudest in the crowd.

"Welcome to Shield, _Agent 13_."

* * *

The Winter Soldier struck again.

Nobody knew that.

All they saw was the car accident of Sharon's parents. That's all Sharon and Peggy saw as the coffins were being lowered into the ground, Sharon weeping into Tony's jacket.

When was the last time she had talked with her parents? They were always busy, she talked to her dad three weeks before this tragedy. Her mother had no words, cold and still upset at her only child following the path that was not set by her mom. That was the last time she never spoke to her mom and she would never again do so.

But she still had her other family, her aunts and her 'cousins'.

That's all Sharon needed.

* * *

"Did you know I'm breaking one of my dad's rules?" Hope said one day.

They sat at a bench where the Washington monument stood, looming over. They put aside their schedule to visit each other and Aunt Peggy. After talking and getting a check-up from the nurse, the trio decided to take in the scenery of DC.

Tony looked up along with Sharon who looked confused. But Tony raised an eyebrow curiosity etched across his face. "What was it?"

" _Never_ _trust_ _a_ _Stark_." Tony snorted.

Of course Hank Pym would say that. Both him and Howard were known to have the biggest fueds ever, Tony would always here the comments spilling out of his father's mouth whenever the man had too many drinks.

"Well, let's keep on breaking the rules."

* * *

Nobody knew what it was like to live under the assumptions of their family names.

 _Stark._

 _Pym._

 _Carter._

Those daunting names that shadowed over their heads.

* * *

So...

Hope _changed_ her name and strived under two mantles: CEO and the Wasp.

Sharon _fought_ through it, breaking her own ceiling with fists and biting words to become an agent of Shield under her own name.

Tony _reinvented_ the name, from what his father left it to what he created, with an iron suite and a brilliant mind just waiting to be challenged with.

They'll be a force to be reckoned with and they were.

* * *

Over the years they would always find time to hang out. Even when Tony Stark announced to the world as Iron Man and the Avengers Initiative was brought to the world, the legacy trio (as Tony would dub them) always had time to get together.

They usually preferred DC, where they would keep Aunt Peggy company, ever since Aunt Angie died two years before from cancer but this time it was different.

* * *

James Barnes. The Winter Soldier. Hydras supposed poster boy assassin was just a man that was brainwashed and supposed to be dead.

He was the reason his parents were killed.

He was the reason Sharon's parents were killed.

It crossed through Tony's mind when Sharon broke the news to him. It was after the downfall of Shield, months after his Aunt's hard-work, Peggy Carter's legacy went up in literal flames.

The worst part was that _Steve_ knew.

Captain Righteous Truth-teller knew for two years and said nothing. He was upset, Sharon was rightly furious and Hope made sure they both came out of this alive.

It's what they do, it's what family does.

After processing the information he decided to contact aunt Peggy. He knew that Bucky was a good friend of hers. They worked together with Bucky assisting her during the super soldier trials on finding Captain America, training troops to see which one would be poster boy for the war. He and Sharon grew up hearing about Sargent Barnes, always seeing how cooler he was than Captain America (or at least in Tony's vision). So it broke his heart to tell his aunt what happened to the man that supposedly died on the train years ago.

When Tony was done telling the story, it was quiet on the other line. For a minute he thought Peggy might have hung up by accident, old people usually did that but he heard shaky breathing coming from the other line.

"Find him."

It took a moment for Tony to process what his aunt just told him. _Find_ _him?_

"Wait-Aunt Peggy what'd ya mean?"

" _Find_ _him_ , Tony. Bring him home, take Sharon and Hope with you but bring him unharmed. _Bring_. _Sargent. James. Barnes. Home._ " Her voice was commanding leaving no room for argument. Not that Tony did, no one would ever try that with Peggy, it never ended well and ended up at the receaving end of her famous glare.

So Tony Stark, the incredible Iron Man could only respond with, "Yes, ma'am"

He could practically see her nodding.

"That's an order."

It would be the last order from Agent Peggy Carter that anyone would recive.

* * *

Germany, it was an irony that the man hid in the country he fought so hard against all those years ago.

The trio cornered him after weeks of tracking the elusive soldier. The man, James 'Bucky' Barnes. Sargent James Barnes, the Winter Soldier looked wary almost as if accepting his fate. And for a moment Tony wanted to inflinct that punishment on him. But he didn't nor did Sharon.

He was Hydras pet toy, a prisoner for so many years. His mind stripped away along with his will. Tony knew Bucky killed but Hydra was the one that started this chain of events all those years ago. If Tony could help Bucky, then it could bring peace for his parents, for his mom if he helped the soldier.

"We've come to take you home Bucky, on the orders of Agent Margaret Carter." Sharon's voice mimicked the unwavering determination that Aunt Peggy had whenever in a room. The man's eyes perked up as if somewhere in the darkness of his messed up mind he could remember Peggy Carter.

No, he _did_ remember.

* * *

When they smuggled him back to the States and to New York, standing in the open garden of his aunt's house Peggy herself was waiting for them.

They met halfway when Bucky collapsed on his knees in front of Peggy. It was as if he was groveling for forgivness from the queen. His aunt, with tears in her eyes merely said, "It's good to see you James." She placed her hand on top of Bucky's head.

* * *

For weeks they discussed things Bucky must have remembered during his time under Hydra. The only thing that came to him was swirling red figures and a little girl. Hope deduced that there must be more victims being held under Hydra. Sharon decided she along with some other SHIELD agents would go digging through Hydras history and find this little girl. Bucky hoped that the little girl with tinted red fingertips would be found alive and safe.

* * *

" _We can't tell Steve_."

Those four words came as a surprise to Tony.

They kept the Winter Soldier for two weeks when Peggy told them that she made contact with a 'friend' that had resources that could help Bucky. That friend was none other than Prince T'Challa of Wakanda, friend Nakia.

Apparently Nakia met Peggy while undercover. She helped nurse the young woman back to health while giving her tips on how to make sure to escape her pursuers in DC. After they kept in touch through letters mostly. Now Peggy was the one asking for help, Nakia agreed. Now here they were, Bucky with his metal arm long gone was awaitng to go under cryo once again for the scientist to find a way to reverse the brainwashing Hydra did.

"I can't risk anyone getting hurt again." Tony could see it broke Peggy's heart to hear the man she considered her brother of war, a fellow soldier, so broken. But Tony along with Sharon and Hope also knew that it would be for the best to keep this a secret.

The less people knew about Bucky the better it was for the man to get a full recovery.

* * *

Two years later after the public fall of SHIELD, the Avengers were split into a Civil War as the media dubbed it.

Two years later and here he was in Siberia, after the false accusation and frame of Bucky setting a bomb in Vienna, killing King T'Chaka. Here Tony Stark was crumbled on the floor, pain surging all over after the beating that Rogers gave him. He was glad though that the truth finally spilled out of his mouth, that Tony knew who killed his parents and that Steve was full of shit for hiding it.

"Where is he Tony?"

"Do you really think I'd know where the _elusive_ Winter Soldier is?"

Tony hoped that T'Challa followed him and found Helmut Zemo soon. He hoped.

"-Fair." That made his blood turn cold. He'd like to _talk_ about _fair_? What was _fair_ about Hydra setting the targets on his parents backs or Sharon's parents? What was _fair_ about any of this?

So, _no_ Steve nothing about this was fair.

* * *

Why should he have been fair to _Captain fucking America_ when the man that is bathed in _truth and stars_ wasn't in the first place? Let them think whatever they want, thats what Aunt Peggy would have said.

"Know your value Tony, only you and no one else."

They always thought the worst of him, always saw him for what the media portrayed him as: _Billionaire. Genius. Playboy. Party-Animal._

But to Rhodey, Pepper, Sharon, Hope, Aunt Angie and Aunt Peggy... He was just Tony Stark. A friend, a lover, a beloved cousin and a nephew.

That's who Tony Stark is.

* * *

Why should Tony Stark be _fair_?

"Hank Pym did say _never trust_ a Stark."

 _So why should he be fucking fair?_

* * *

 **NOTE: I do not own any of Marvel character no the quotes used above.I always thought especially watching Ant-Man and Civil War the billionth time that 1) Sharon, Tony and Hope would such an awesome trio. 2) Bucky Barnes deserves a hug along with Tony. 3) Steve Rogers deserves a punch in the face. and 4) Sharon Carter is so much more than a love interest just like her great-aunt.**

 **So it intrigued me seeing that Hope, Sharon and Tony are literally legacies of Hank, Peggy and Howard. Not only that but together as this family of legacies, this special group that nobody could understand except them. Hence the name of the title! This will part one of a series of one shots I'm working on called 'Don't Trust a Stark' Also you can find this and my other stories on AO3 under MarvelousAvengfulSlytherin. Hope you liked the story and leave comment. :)**


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